Pages

Monday, 18 December 2006

Since last month, more and more Malaysians have been enquiring about migrating. Between Nov 14 to Nov 19 alone, there were about 6,500 enquiries for migration to Australia, 5,500 enquiries for New Zealand, 4,000 for Canada, about 3,500 enquiries for other countries, including Norway and Switzerland.

Are Malaysians trying to ditch the country?

It wouldn't surprise me though. Between the needless and wasteful spending that comes out of the taxpayers' pocket, the corruption that is rampant and the racism that minorities have to endure, it's about time Malaysians looked for greener pastures.

It's gone beyond the wake up call for politicians and their race-manipulative agendas, but I'm not holding my breath for the Great Awakening.

Wednesday, 13 December 2006

The Axinar and I were discussing interracial relationships in Malaysia and Israel respectively when he casually commented, "Now, after talking to you, I'm picking up that Malaysia is a little more like Israel ... y'all REALLY hate each other's guts to the core, dontcha?"

That got me thinking about how we Malaysians interact with each other, what one race thinks about the other and why we haven't killed each other yet or died trying to.

If the honest truth be told, we're actually very fond of each other. At work, we completely forget that we come from different cultures and expectations. At least in my office we do.

But for some reason, politicians have a way with race manipulation, most of it through what you could probably call 'Affirmative Action'.

If 'Affirmative Action' was meant to restore some semblance of equal opportunity in the United States, it does exactly the opposite in Malaysia.

Sunday, 10 December 2006

No, really. I recall a twit sometime back who likened women to 'uncovered meat' in relation to their dresscodes, which unfortunately (and presumably) did not include a grey burqa.

Bless his soul, but Sheikh al-Hilali has a rival in the form of Nik Aziz, President of PAS (The Opposition - Islamic Party of Malaysia) who by no twist of fate belongs to good ole Malaysia.

I swear, it's highly entertaining living in Malaysia. Those of you in the US really oughta make a visit down here. We'll draw up the dress code for you, don't worry. :)

Let's take a look at PAS' (Islamic Party of Malaysia) efforts at making the world a better place:1) Separating male and female checkout lines at supermarkets 2) Directives to cinema halls to be well lit3) Separating of sexes in public swimming pools4) Advising women against wearing lipstick outside their homes, because it could arouse men and lead to sexual assault

The latest curb comes in the form of a municipal by-law, which slaps "indecently dressed women" with a fine of up to RM500.

Charming.

The rule was reportedly aimed at women employed in retail outlets and eateries, both Muslim and non-Muslim. No-nos include tight pants, mini-skirts and body-hugging outfits.

Of course, after due protest, he withdrew the imposition on non-Muslim women, not before whining, "The dress code is an Islamic requirement to help protect the virtue of women."

Why are all these men falling over themselves to protect women's virtues anyways?

"I don't really care about what others say – as long as it is not a Malaysian saying it."

Actually Ms Minister, I think about 600 Malaysians just spoke for themselves, judging by the staggering number of emails they sent him. It's just that YOU didn't hear them say it.

If you cared more about what a critic like Backman (who has spent most of his adult life analysing and writing about Asia) said, you wouldn't be in this humiliating position.

Oh, and by the way, someone who calls himself 'Barau' - along with his bunch of friends apparently agree with Backman. Barau and his posse are not alone in their opinions.

Though it appears Backman may have actually started a stampede to immigration.

Davina says, "yea, if we're going to be treated like second class citizens in our own land of birth we might as well go elsewhere and be given better civil liberties EVEN as second class citizens of our new countries."

If the Malaysian government does not represent the people, it is worthless and redundant - simply a white elephant waiting its time out.

Its ridiculous spending habits are legendary - from sending a Malaysian into space, to building the longest undersea cable in the world. It, collectively, has NO clue.

Education is the obvious answer. But not on school buildings, for it matters less in what children are educated than how. And how children are educated in Malaysia is a national disaster.

Learning is largely by rote. In an email to me last week, one Malaysian recalled her schooling as being in a system all about spoon-feeding, memory work and regurgitation.

Students are not encouraged to think for themselves and they become adults who swallow everything they're told.

Which is basically why very few Malaysians question their leaders, criticise their government or start riots.

Those who do think contribute to blogs. :)

But does the Malaysian Government want creative, critical thinkers? Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi said to the ruling party's recent general assembly Malaysia needed to make students creative. But that means they must be questioning and thus critical; what hope is there of that when one of Abdullah's own ministers tells Malaysians that they cannot say the things that I can and hundreds of them write to me to complain because they don't feel that they can complain to their own Government?

Saturday, 25 November 2006

LOOKING at recent developments, I think there should be a new association registered for the propagation of the shallow and superficial. It should be called, for short, the SS.

The SS is open for membership to people who have nothing better to do with their lives than look for monsters under their beds, enemies in their blankets or crosses in their buns. The first members of the SS are the people who believe that the path to hell is paved with ice-cream biscuits.

In case there are still people out there who only read the mainstream papers and therefore have been blissfully cocooned in ignorance, a group of defenders of the faith have lodged a report that a certain brand of ice-cream biscuits have (Christian) crosses on them, and therefore this is a grave threat to our faith. If any of us were unaware that all it takes is ice-cream to melt our faith, now we know.

The SS would comprise of people who really believe that their faith needs to be protected from confectionery, lipstick, books, magazines, songs, maybe even SpongeBob SquarePants. Everything should be scrutinized for their ability to creep into one’s soul and destroy one’s beliefs. Having laws that allow for this scrutiny would apparently show how superior and strong their religion is.

The SS are not in the least bit interested in any real issues that might truly be threats to their community. Not for them the trivial matters of poverty and hunger nor of people being bombed to death every day in Iraq or Palestine, or dying of diseases such as AIDS. Nay, these are unimportant compared to the dangers of ice-cream and lipstick.

In case anyone thinks I am making this up, some people might remember that in the days before the United States invaded Iraq, an e-mail listing out the brands of cosmetics one should not use because their lipsticks were not halal was passed around. Undoubtedly, several hundred thousand dead Iraqis later, those who boycotted those lipsticks feel very good now.

Let us not forget other SS members, those who should be conferred the special title Simple-Minded and Stupid, otherwise known as SMS. These are the sorts who believe every little message that comes into their hot little phones, no matter how unlikely.

Without even asking simple questions like “Is it true?”, they pass them on as if they were, well, gospel. Even worse, instead of just relying on electronic gadgets, which one can always blame technology for, they pass on these messages verbally to other members of the SS, all of whom accept everything the SMS say is literally The Word of God.

The alleged Word of God is then borne into action by Korrupt Kombative Knuckleheads, otherwise known as the KKK. These will do things like throw firecrackers into churchyards, destroy temples and raid married people’s bedrooms. Pretty soon we may find them dressing up in bedsheets and stringing up people they don’t like on trees.

One thing about the SS, the SMS and the KKK is that they never take responsibility for anything. Unlike hijackers, kidnappers and terrorists who want to be known as people who do bad deeds, the Malaysian versions don’t own up to anything. If SS or SMS talk about how Other People are bad, and the KKK then go and string up people by their necks, the SS and SMS simply put their hands up and say, “But I never told them to do that. I only mentioned these things in passing.”

Thus they can pass out simpleminded but dangerous messages without having to take the consequences. Unlike Other People who are constantly being threatened with all sorts of Dire Consequences should they so much as open their mouths. This is how less than a dozen people talking peace and goodwill can be told to shut up in the face of 10,000 talking war and hate. It’s the same sort of argument some Neanderthals make about cameras peering in inappropriate places; the victims shouldn’t have worn skirts.

The sad thing is that an association like the SS would have so many members in this country. While those who are reasonable, moderate and tolerant are getting marginalized every day.

The voice of hate is these days so much louder than the voice of peace, love and inclusiveness. Just as we don’t see the supreme irony of trumpeting our religious superiority while at the same time claiming that it only takes biscuits to destroy us, we don’t see the irony of extolling ourselves as a superior race while at the same time insisting on crutches and handouts.

Tuesday, 21 November 2006

Some time ago I posted something from The Age for an article by Michael Backman, a renowned writer and columnist specialising in economies, politics, business groups and business practices in Asia.

It had rather caustic but completely accurate comments about the ludicrous government policies and decisions that have hindered Malaysia from being the hugely powerful country it could easily have been.

While there are a decent number of Malaysians living in Australia, it is obvious that even those still residing in Malaysia (either due to a severe lack of options or sheer bad taste - of which I happily admit to the latter) have been on the lookout for someone who understands the system over here.

This article made its way into my inbox, for a grand total of FOUR times from FOUR different people!! And all within a week. It has NEVER happened before.

Apparently some Malaysians even emailed Mr Backman to commend him for his astute observations. In his website, he has a special note for Malaysians which begins with:

The response to my recent column 'While Malaysia fiddles, its opportunities are running dry', published in The Age newspaper on November 15 has been overwhelming. I've received hundreds of e-mails and messages, many from Malaysians both in Malaysia and outside, of which perhaps 95% have been supportive. Thank you for these. It seems that the column has given voice to concerns that many Malaysians have.

Yes indeed, Mr Backman. Yes indeed.

It has come to our attention rather belatedly that most of the people we have elected/appointed to the government/parliament should be:a) behind barsb) in a school for severe learning disabilitiesc) in the primate section of the national zoo

Thursday, 16 November 2006

Being a multi-racial nation, Malaysia has been prone to incredible amounts of manipulation and power-play by politicians, not to mention the attention deficient clowns who go through various lengths to provoke a riot of some sort.

Only a few days ago, there was a protest against a supposed mass conversion of Muslims into Christianity. It turns out it was a communion service for 98 Indian children. The woman behind these shenanigans has been given 48 hours to report to the police.

This political mess is not limited to religion but to the economy as well, where the Malays (Bumiputras) are given special rights over other races.

The long-held aim is for 30 per cent of corporate equity to be in Malay hands, but the figure that the Government uses to justify handing over huge swathes of public companies to Malays but not to other races is absurd. It bases its figure on equity valued, not at market value, but at par value.

Many shares have a par value of say $1 but a market value of $12. And so the Government figure (18.9 per cent is the most recent figure) is a gross underestimate. Last month a paper by a researcher at a local think-tank came up with a figure of 45 per cent based on actual stock prices. All hell broke loose. The paper was withdrawn and the researcher resigned in protest. Part of the problem is that he is Chinese.

We've had this silent war for so long. The Malays versus non-Malays (Chinese and Indians).

I'm personally tired of it.

The PM, Abdullah Badawi claims that he abhors the name calling, statements that hurt sensitivities, the corruption and abuse of power and the nit-picking that hindered the country's progress.

Wednesday, 15 November 2006

*Backposted after 2009, when Backman's column in The Age was discontinued.

Michael Backman
November 15, 2006

MALAYSIA's been at it again, arguing about what proportion of the economy each of its two main races - the Malays and the Chinese - owns. It's an argument that's been running for 40 years. That wealth and race are not synonymous is important for national cohesion, but really, it's time Malaysia grew up.

It's a tough world out there and there can be little sympathy for a country that prefers to argue about how to divide wealth rather than get on with the job of creating it.

The long-held aim is for 30 per cent of corporate equity to be in Malay hands, but the figure that the Government uses to justify handing over huge swathes of public companies to Malays but not to other races is absurd. It bases its figure on equity valued, not at market value, but at par value.

Many shares have a par value of say $1 but a market value of $12. And so the Government figure (18.9 per cent is the most recent figure) is a gross underestimate. Last month a paper by a researcher at a local think-tank came up with a figure of 45 per cent based on actual stock prices. All hell broke loose. The paper was withdrawn and the researcher resigned in protest. Part of the problem is that he is Chinese.

"Malaysia boleh!" is Malaysia's national catch cry. It translates to "Malaysia can!" and Malaysia certainly can. Few countries are as good at wasting money. It is richly endowed with natural resources and the national obsession seems to be to extract these, sell them off and then collectively spray the proceeds up against the wall.

This all happens in the context of Malaysia's grossly inflated sense of its place in the world.

Most Malaysians are convinced that the eyes of the world are on their country and that their leaders are world figures. This is thanks to Malaysia's tame media and the bravado of former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad. The truth is, few people on the streets of London or New York could point to Malaysia on a map much less name its prime minister or capital city.

As if to make this point, a recent episode of The Simpsons features a newsreader trying to announce that a tidal wave had hit some place called Kuala Lumpur. He couldn't pronounce the city's name and so made up one, as if no-one cared anyway. But the joke was on the script writers — Kuala Lumpur is inland.

Petronas, the national oil company is well run, particularly when compared to the disaster that passes for a national oil company in neighbouring Indonesia. But in some respects, this is Malaysia's problem. The very success of Petronas means that it is used to underwrite all manner of excess.

The KLCC development in central Kuala Lumpur is an example. It includes the Twin Towers, the tallest buildings in the world when they were built, which was their point.

It certainly wasn't that there was an office shortage in Kuala Lumpur — there wasn't.

Malaysians are very proud of these towers. Goodness knows why. They had little to do with them. The money for them came out of the ground and the engineering was contracted out to South Korean companies.

They don't even run the shopping centre that's beneath them. That's handled by Australia's Westfield.

Next year, a Malaysian astronaut will go into space aboard a Russian rocket — the first Malay in space. And the cost? $RM95 million ($A34.3 million), to be footed by Malaysian taxpayers. The Science and Technology Minister has said that a moon landing in 2020 is the next target, aboard a US flight. There's no indication of what the Americans will charge for this, assuming there's even a chance that they will consider it. But what is Malaysia getting by using the space programs of others as a taxi service? There are no obvious technical benefits, but no doubt Malaysians will be told once again, that they are "boleh". The trouble is, they're not. It's not their space program.

Back in July, the Government announced that it would spend $RM490 million on a sports complex near the London Olympics site so that Malaysian athletes can train there and "get used to cold weather".

But the summer Olympics are held in the summer.

So what is the complex's real purpose? The dozens of goodwill missions by ministers and bureaucrats to London to check on the centre's construction and then on the athletes while they train might provide a clue.

Bank bale outs, a formula one racing track, an entire new capital city — Petronas has paid for them all. It's been an orgy of nonsense that Malaysia can ill afford.

Why? Because Malaysia's oil will run out in about 19 years. As it is, Malaysia will become a net oil importer in 2011 — that's just five years away.

So it's in this context that the latest debate about race and wealth is so sad.

It is time to move on, time to prepare the economy for life after oil. But, like Nero fiddling while Rome burned, the Malaysian Government is more interested in stunts like sending a Malaysian into space when Malaysia's inadequate schools could have done with the cash, and arguing about wealth distribution using transparently ridiculous statistics.

Friday, 27 October 2006

Just when the whole whiz she-bang surrounding Biting Beaver was beginning to die down, a whole new concept of 'misogynist' was born.

From Down Under (Australia, that is) you hear a voice braying in the distance, "women who don't wear head scarfs are 'uncovered meat' who invite rape."

Just where are the feminists and their burn-your-bras posse when you need them?

Because there is one prime misogynist in dire and desperate need of rehabilitation. He comes in the form of a 65-year-old Muslim cleric (the most senior, in fact) in Australia's largest mosque who goes by the monicker Sheik Hilali.

"It is she who takes off her clothes, shortens them, flirts, puts on make-up and powder and takes to the streets, God protect us, dallying.

"It's she who shortens, raises and lowers. Then it's a look, then a smile, then a conversation, a greeting, then a conversation, then a date, then a meeting, then a crime, then Long Bay Jail," he tells his worshippers with a chuckle.

"Then you get a judge, who has no mercy and he gives you 65 years.

"But when it comes to this disaster, who started it? In his literature, scholar al-Rafihi says: 'If I came across a rape crime - kidnap and violation of honour - I would discipline the man and order that the woman be arrested and jailed for life.'

Why would you do this, Rafihi? He says because if she had not left the meat uncovered, the cat wouldn't have snatched it."